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Smith Creek Fire Now 175 Hectares in Size


Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com

The Smith Creek fire is currently at 175 hectares and it has not been contained as of 7:00 p.m. A total of 2,500 residents have been evacuated from approximately 1,100 homes.

Another evacuation alert has been issued for 150 more properties in West Kelowna as a result of the Smith Creek fire.

Properties from 1898 to 2515 Bartley Road and Lenz Road (including Pinewood Villa Mobile Home Park) are affected by this latest evacuation alert. This is in addition to the 2,500 residents from almost 1,100 homes already under evacuation order in the Smith Creek, Tallus Ridge, Alexandria Way and Shannon Woods neighbourhoods.

As of 7:00 p.m., evacuees should report to the Emergency Reception Centre, which has been moved to Mount Boucherie Secondary School at 2751 Cameron Road. The previous reception centre at Lakeview Heights Baptist Church is closed. While it’s greatly appreciated, Emergency Support Services (ESS) is not requesting donations of food, clothing or other assistance at this time. The Canadian Disaster Animal Response team is working with ESS to arrange accommodation for animals in the Evacuation Order areas.

West Kelowna Mayor and Council have Declared a State of Local Emergency. All residents living west of the Bennett Bridge are asked to limit household water use and shutoff outdoor irrigation use to keep pressure and supply available for emergency crews fighting the fire.

West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater and fire officials are staying positive but cautious as the Smith Creek fire rages on, out of control.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon the Mayor, RDCO Informational Officer Bruce Smith, Chief Administrative Officer and EOC Director Jim Zaffino, Kelowna Fire Chief and Liaison Officer Jeff Carlyle answered immediate questions about the situation.

“As you know this has been a very tough week for the District of West Kelowna, three fires in a week, all in interface areas,” said Findlater. “I want to thank all of the firefighters who are participating and the emergency response personnel and the volunteers who are helping. There was an earlier report of structures lost and I am told that is incorrect. There was heavy smoke in the area but as a result of helicopter buckets it was saved. So a little bit of good news there.”

The evacuation order has recently been expanded to include the Smith Creek Neighbourhood, Tallus Ridge Estates, Alexandria Way and Shannon Woods. For the complete list of evacuated areas click here.

“Certainly people have to be careful; this is very early for this type of thing to be going on,” adds Findlater. “We have great firefighters and this regional emergency program works very well and it rose at the time of the 2003 wildfires and it turns us into a single organization.”


Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com

Fire officials from Peachland, West Kelowna, Kelowna and Lake Country as well as the BC Wildfire Management branch have been activated. If you are among those that have been evacuated please be sure to register at one of the emergency locations, even if you do not require help from volunteers. People are urged to visit the www.cordemergency.ca website for updates and information.

The initial worry that the fire could result in a loss of power to residents in West Kelowna was also discussed at the meeting. People are urged to turn off all water and electricity but they can keep refrigerators and freezers turned on. FortisBC has been alerted and are also on scene to assist with any issues that may arise.

When asked what the feeling on the ground was like in West Kelowna Fire Chief Jeff Carlyle spoke candidly.

“This is a very aggressive fire because of the hot dry conditions and the incident commander is very experienced in incidents like this,” said Carlyle. “It would be a strong sense of urgency to do the best they can to contain this as quickly as possible. You can imagine what it would be like if you were there watching that fire grow like that in your community.”

What I would like to say is that there are people pulled over all over the place looking in the direction of Smith Creek, taking a look at it and people are really fearful,” added Findlater. Everybody is outside watching that fire from the streets.”

For previous information please click here and more information can be found here.



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